It is a distinct honour for me to address this forum.
I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to
Mr. John Ashe on his assumption of the presidency of
the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. I am
certain that under his leadership, the Assembly will
successfully define the post-2015 development agenda
at this session. I would also like to express my deepest
respect to the Secretary-General for his significant
contributions to the continuing work of the United
Nations.
Over the past 100 years, the miraculous advances
of science and technology have changed our world
profoundly, making it appear smaller. People’s lives
have improved. Yet along with those accomplishments
have come latent dangers. The long-standing dream
shared by people across the world of living a safe,
peaceful, prosperous and happy life free from hunger
remains far from achieved.
Humankind yearns for peace, so why is it that
many regions remain under the constant threat of
disputes, conflicts and wars? The global economy is
growing, so how is it that billions of people still live in
abject poverty? Science and technology have brought
about outstanding advancement, so why have natural
disasters, epidemics and pollution become increasingly
severe and unpredictable? Those questions impose an
enormous responsibility on all of us, as the community
of nations.
Throughout history, wars have destroyed many
civilizations. In only the past 100 years, two world
wars and many others — including that in Viet
Nam — have cost millions of lives and produced
devastating consequences over generations. While
peace, cooperation and development are the dominant
trend, the threat of war is ever present.
Violence in the Middle East and North Africa is of
grave concern. The latest instance in Syria, involving
the use of chemical weapons, needs to be strongly
condemned. We must give peace every possible chance
and find solutions to eliminate chemical weapons, in
accordance with international law and United Nations
resolutions.
Unpredictable developments in the Korean
peninsula persist. Territorial disputes still rage in the
East China Sea and South China Sea. Just one single
incident or ill-conceived act could trigger conflict, or
even war.
In the East China Sea, through which over half
of the world’s shipping passes, maintaining maritime
security and freedom of navigation is critical, not only
to the region but to the world. Viet Nam consistently
pursues a policy of peaceful resolution of disputes to
defend its legitimate interests and fully respect those of
the global community, in accordance with international
law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties
in the South China Sea, other regional agreements, and
efforts to elaborate a code of conduct.
Ho Chi Minh used the words of Thomas Jefferson
in Viet Nam’s Declaration of Independence:
“All men are created equal. They are endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights;
among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness”.
All human life is precious, irrespective of race, religion
or gender. Taking a single life causes heart-breaking
pain to any family, be it here in Manhattan or far away
in a remote corner of the Earth. Therefore, any effort
to prevent conflict must be valued and supported. Any
effort to preserve peace must be fully exhausted. Any
act to provoke war must be condemned and stopped. A
physician must do whatever is possible to cure a patient
if there is but a glimpse of life left. And we must devote
all of our efforts to preserving peace if there is but a
feeble sign that war can be averted, for war will take the
life of not only one, but many people, including many
women and children.
Peace can be built and preserved only when
all countries respect each other’s independence,
sovereignty and cultural traditions, without imposing
one’s own morality on another. Conflict and war can be
averted only if we eliminate actions that run counter to
the Charter of the United Nations and international law,
dominance and power politics.
Strategic trust among nations must be constantly
nurtured with honesty, sincerity and concrete actions.
In the lifting of the embargo against Cuba or the
recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to
self-determination, for example, the role of the United
Nations and the Security Council should be promoted.
The international community expects the major Powers
to set an example for others in peacebuilding. The
Security Council should be the fulcrum in building
consensus for driving all nations to join hands in
preserving peace. The deadly hand of war, conflict,
terrorism and violence lies in wait to take the lives
of hundreds, thousands or even millions of innocent
people. Let us not offer war a hand or look away. Let
us stop it.
I share the Secretary-General’s view that the
Millennium Development Goals are our most successful
endeavour against hunger and poverty to date, but let us
not forget that close to 40 per cent of global wealth rests
in the hands of no more than 1 per cent of the world’s
population. The gap between rich and poor continues
to widen. Over 1 billion people still live in extreme
poverty. Hundreds of millions of people, especially
children, continue to be hungry and food insecure,
ill and without basic medicines, and they face a grim
future due to the lack of educational opportunities.
At the same time, deforestation, exhaustive
exploitation of natural resources, pollution and other
factors have led to global warming, rising sea levels,
unpredictable weather, natural disasters and new
epidemics. Those grave dangers are driving poorer
nations into deeper destitution.
We must rally together to escape poverty, fight
disease, protect the environment, respond to natural
disasters and build a greener and more just world.
Poor countries and peoples need to lift themselves out
of poverty with the help of wealthier people and more
developed countries. That help must arise not only from
a sense of philanthropy — as we say in Viet Nam, whole
leaves wrap torn ones — but above all from a sense of
responsibility and understanding of our joint destiny.
After all, poorer people and nations have contributed
to the wealth of richer nations and people, and they
deserve a more prosperous future.
I urge the global community to craft, with a sense
of responsibility and humanity, an ambitious post-
2015 development agenda and to redouble our efforts
to promote peace, to end hunger and poverty and to
protect our planet. Together we can develop a road map
of actions for poorer nations to effectively participate
in international agreements and institutions and to
face and overcome global challenges and dangers in
the spirit of the motto adopted by Alexandre Dumas’s
musketeers — “One for all and all for one”.
As a Vietnamese, what I have shared with the
Assembly comes from experiences soaked in sweat
and blood. Just a few decades ago, the very name “Viet
Nam” was synonymous with war, division, blood and
tears. A remote country called Viet Nam suffered
15 million tons of bombs — four times the amount used
in the Second World War. Each Vietnamese bore nearly
10 times his or her weight in bombs, not to mention our
population’s suffering from over 70 million litres of the
silent but deadly Agent Orange/dioxin compound.
According to a traditional Vietnamese expression,
benevolence triumphs over brutality and virtue drives
out tyranny. With courageous sacrifice and creativity
and with the support of peace-loving people, nations
and international organizations, Viet Nam has defended
its independence, united and rebuilt from the ashes of
war, and left the past behind to become an active and
responsible member of the international community.
Viet Nam has integrated the Millennium Development
Goals into the formulation and implementation of our
development strategy, and it has balanced economic
development and social security. We have received a
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
award for our outstanding achievements in poverty
reduction, Because we consider people the goal
and centre of development, Viet Nam pays special
attention to providing health care, education and the
means of communication even for people in remote,
underdeveloped areas and among our ethnic minorities.
Viet Nam is working actively with other members of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations community
to build it into a common house for all South-East
Asian nations that were once deeply divided by war.
That work vividly embodies our aspirations to a bright
future of peace, cooperation and prosperity, to unity in
diversity, and to the accomplishment of the Millennium
Development Goals.
Having survived devastating wars of aggression
and extreme poverty, our aspirations to peace and
prosperity burn ever more brightly. We are committed
to doing more to participate in peacebuilding, poverty
reduction, environmental protection and other efforts.
We stand ready to join United Nations peacekeeping
operations. We are willing to share our resources and
experience as a tribute to the international friends who
have supported us in our struggle for independence,
unification and poverty reduction.
Viet Nam remains and always will be a reliable
partner and responsible member of the international
community. In the area of food, for example, Viet
Nam, a country that has traditionally suffered from
hunger, has become a leading rice exporter. We have
achieved national food security but consider it our
responsibility to help maintain global food security.
We not only export, but also help countries to become
self-reliant in food production, as we have done in
Cuba, Mozambique, Angola, Mali, Madagascar,
Myanmar and elsewhere. We hope developed countries
and international organizations will participate in
supporting similar programmes as a meaningful and
substantive multiparty model of cooperation.
I am deeply convinced that the post-2015
development agenda will be created and finalized
for a world free from war and hunger and devoted to
peace and cooperation, for sustainable development
and prosperity for humankind, and for our evergreen
planet. Viet Nam commits itself to that purpose.